George Santayana had irrational faith in reason - I have irrational faith in TV.

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Further Thoughts on Charlie Hebdo: Where We Go From Here

Usually, governments have been the worst opponents of journalists, satirists, and those who not only believe but daily practice freedom of expression. In the case of totalitarian governments in the 20th century and dictatorships throughout the ages, those in power often imprisoned and killed those who dared to criticize them in print or any medium. Democracies have been a little better, but even Turkey recently arrested and imprisoned a journalist. The United States has been known to do the same - certainly numerous journalists were arrested here during Occupy Wall Street, in blatant violation of our First Amendment.

Recently, corporations have engaged in a kind of self-censorship, which has been destructive of the public's right to know. Sony's initial pulling of The Interview out of movie theaters is a recent regrettable example. And even last night, in the reporting of the Charlie Hebdo attack, progressive stalwarts such as MSNBC refused to show some of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons deemed so offensive by the murderers in Paris. But not showing those cartoons is an offense to those who died, and everyone who believes in freedom of expression.

The world changed yesterday. Journalists have long been in danger on the front lines of war reporting. Now they are in danger in their very offices. Now more than ever, governments and corporations need to give those brave guardians of our democracy their maximum support.

About Me

Paul Levinson, PhD, is Professor of Communication &
Media Studies at Fordham University in New York City.His 8 nonfiction books, including The Soft Edge (1997),
Digital McLuhan (1999), Realspace (2003), Cellphone (2004), and New New Media (2009, 2nd edition 2012), have been the
subject of major articles in the New York Times, Wired, the Christian Science
Monitor, and have been translated into 12 languages. His science fiction novels include The Silk Code (1999, ebook 2012), Borrowed Tides (2001), TheConsciousness Plague (2002, 2013), The Pixel Eye (2003), The Plot To SaveSocrates (2006, ebook 2012), and Unburning Alexandria (2013).His short stories
have been nominated for Nebula, Hugo, Edgar, and Sturgeon Awards.Paul Levinson appears on "The
O'Reilly Factor" (Fox News), "The CBS Evening News,"“NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” (PBS),“Nightline” (ABC), NPR, and numerous
national and international TV and radio programs. His 1972 album, Twice Upon a Rhyme, was re-issued in 2009 (CD) and 2010 (remastered vinyl). He reviews the best of
television in his InfiniteRegress.tv blog, and was listed in The Chronicle of
Higher Education’s “Top 10 Academic Twitterers” in 2009.

e-mail received from a reader:Dear Paul, I just dreamed of airships flying between raindrops. I just returned from 2042 CE, where I sold my hardcover copy of The Plot to Save Socrates for seventy million Neo-Euros, because it had your response to this e-mail from way back in 2007 scotch-taped onto the inside of the cover. A Paul Levinson collector paid top Neo-Euro, because of the authentic archaic e-mail printout from you. It turns out that not many of your e-mails from before your tenure as CEO of HBO/Cinemax and terms as United Nations Secretary General will survive that far into the future. So, please respond to this e-mail, to help found my great-grandchildren's fortune. My Will will stipulate that they must share with your great grandchidren. Thanks! Tom